


Jack

by Jabberspocky



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:35:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8928475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jabberspocky/pseuds/Jabberspocky
Summary: I remember the moment we met. I don’t remember how old I was, having lost track of my age a long time ago. I don’t remember what the ship was called – it blurs together with all of the other ships that delivered me from all the other towns. Towns which had become dangerous to stay in. That has what I did when trouble hit: I ran. Before I met Jack, it seemed like me life was just a series of ship’s holds, and I was never anything more than a stowaway.





	

I remember the moment we met. I don’t remember how old I was, having lost track of my age a long time ago. I don’t remember what the ship was called – it blurs together with all of the other ships that delivered me from all the other towns. Towns which had become dangerous to stay in. That has what I did when trouble hit: I ran. Before I met Jack, it seemed like me life was just a series of ship’s holds, and I was never anything more than a stowaway. I remember so few details of my life before, but I remember that moment, when my life changed. I had been feeling around in the dark of the ship’s cargo, trying to find a semi-comfortable place to sleep, when I bumped into someone. I didn’t stop to think, I just clapped my hand over their mouth, pulled them to the floor, and pressed my knife to their throat. The person did little more than give an “mph!” and fall down. I hissed, “One peep and you’re dead!” before removing my hand from their mouth and pinning their flailing arms. “I’ve killed before, so don’t doubt me!” I added, though at that time it was a lie. They seemed to believe me, though, and went limp. I took a few moments to catch my breath, then asked, “Who knows that you’re here?” “No one,” came a young boy’s voice, faint and afraid. “Stowaway?” I asked, and he didn’t answer at first. With a bit of extra pressure from my knife, however, he seemed to decide on honesty. “Yes,” he wheezed, and I released him. “Oh, good,” I whispered, and sheathed my knife. “Me, too.” He introduced himself as Jack, and I did as Robin, though I didn’t tell him that I was really a girl and I simply found it more convenient to masquerade as a boy.

We became best friends, inseparable. Jack told me everything about himself, and I told him almost everything. I never revealed the lie about my gender. I never told him about the abuse that drove me to run away from home. I hardly talked about the past, just the present and future. Even as close as we were, I kept too many secrets. The secrets were like a wedge between us, present even when we were nestled together, hiding, or roaming the streets picking pockets. I don’t know if Jack ever felt it, but I held the lies heavy in my heart. In the cruel, callous world, we looked out for one another, but sometime I felt like it was just another lie. Jack was so innocent when I met him, still believing in the good in people. He was not so innocent after I left him. The going got tough, and as I always did, I ran. I didn’t look back.

Years passed, and we both went on with our lives. I eventually shed the male disguise, after I was too old to pass for a boy. I drifted, but my heart was at sea, and there I stayed. The sea was the only thig that could count on me like Jack once did. Sometime I worked on merchant ships, sometimes on pirate vessels, but I never made much of myself. I never had enough money to buy my own ship, never enough men behind me to steal one. I kept my head low and didn’t make a name for myself. I made sure that no one saw me as loyal and honest enough to be worth remembering, or traitorous and dishonest enough to hate. I drifted, sad and alone, never knowing what I wanted or how to get it. It was this way until the day I met Jack once again.

I was in Tortuga, wasting a few days before looking for another ship to sail on. My quiet heart felt out of place in the rowdy taverns, so I walked the streets instead. I kept my knife in my hand just in case, for Tortuga, even for one as familiar as me, was not safe at night. I wasn’t particularly afraid, as I knew how to protect myself, but one can never be sure. I went down to the docks, where it was quieter, and looked at the ships. None of them were incredibly nice, but they were better than nothing. None were small enough to sail with one person. I was just starting back uptown when I heard some yelling up a side street. The noise came from three filthy pirates who were chasing a man. Something about the man seemed familiar, so I grabbed him when he came around the corner. I pulled him behind a cart and pressed my knife to his throat, adding “one peep and you’re dead” for emphasis. As the pursuers passed on, Jack breathed, “Robin,” and a bell went off in my memory. Jack. I was ashamed at the way I felt like I’d come home, and the tears that welled up in my eyes. I quickly blinked them away and forced my face to smooth over. When I released Jack and he turned to look at me, my face was in its default blank expression, the one I use to hide my soul. Jack’s expression when through several changes, starting at recognition before going to surprise, passing through confusion before settling at hurt. This lasted only a moment, though, as he then looked below my chin and his face switched rapidly to bewilderment. I crossed my arms over my chest, embarrassed. “Robin,” repeated Jack, swaying forwards slightly. “You’re a…” he waved his hand a me and trailed off, apparently unable to find words to describe what he saw. His jaw moved up and down a few times, as if he were chewing on something sour, before he spat it out. “Woman.”  
“I’m sorry for lying to you, Jack,” I replied sadly. “Oh,” he said, and half-sat, half-fell on a barrel. I sat beside him, resisting the urge to lay my head on his shoulder. I felt like I was just coming apart with Jack, like he was breaking down that high wall I had built to keep my heart safe. I couldn’t let that happen, especially not after what I did to him. I looked out to sea and waited until he was reading to speak. I enjoyed his warmth beside me, though I told myself that I did not.

We sat there for a very long time, waiting. I was stricken when I realized that I had allowed myself to doze and lean against him. I was cursing myself and wondering whether it was too late to pull away when he put his arm around me. It felt so right that it took me a moment to realize that the lonely, aimless feeling I’d had since I was a teenager was gone. I knew exactly where I wanted to be, and it was right here. Finally, Jack spoke. “I missed you,” he whispered, his throat tight. “Me, too,” I replied, a single tear finally escaping my eye and running down my cheek.


End file.
